My name is Adam Cole, age 25, from Whitby Ontario, Canada. I am a supply teacher in my area, hoping to get a full time job, but until then just supplying. I teach history and English mainly, and supply in both elementary and high school. I have been dating my girlfriend for over a year now, who is finishing up University soon.
Can you tell us a little bit about what brought you to first class mogul?
Honestly I had stopped mogul leagues altogether and I came on aim randomly, and got a message from DJ asking me to join the league, and I always liked him so I joined right away. Then within like a month of actually being in the league he asked me to help him admin because he knew me.
Hokey, You have your own style to playing this game of Mogul. Can you talk about your philosophy in how you construct your team (low amount of players in minors, use of players, etc)?
Honestly, the reason I never have a bunch of low level prospects that do not look good, is the way I base it, I would rather have a 70/86 jump than a 50/70 jump, and so I have always built my teams around that concept. That being said there can be low peak players who eventually become good, but I find signing a free agent that is 65/70 or keeping one on your team is just pointless, he will never start and will likely never be on the bench of a competing team. For the most part, this has worked in my benefit so far, but I do know that sometimes players can actually be a lot better than they look in terms of overall and peak.
In terms of use of players, I have always liked speedy players, I have never really had a team until there was a low amount of speedy OF’s in the file where I had no speed. If you look at past seasons, Jorge Vasquez played mainly for me and San Francisco, and he is one of the best stealers in our league. I then made sure to get Rafael Romero when I could, and even early I had Dexter, and other speedy players. In terms of position, LF I like power, and if possible defense, otherwise I am fine without it, CF I like contact, speed, eye, defense, RF needs an arm, 1B power and eye, 3B contact and defense, 2B contact and defense, SS contact and defense, CA power, eye, arm.
The one main thing is I would rather have pitching than hitting, because I find pitching to be more consistent whereas hitters sometimes come and go. Has that worked all the time, no, but until I left Florida, the only person who may have actually had more wins than me in total was Andy, even DJ and Sean did not have as many, but overall I will always build pitchers first, and then put others after. I also value my bullpen highly, and I know some do not, but whenever I have not had a closer, bad things happen, which is why I overpay for players like a Gibson. I also have had some of the best closers on my team, being Kahler, Gibson, Jackson, and I hope to continue that.
The last thing I can possibly say is what I look for in drafting. For that rather than going into great detail, all you have to do is read my draft reviews and you will see what I like.
Hokey you are known for some of the deals you have been able to accomplish in First Class Mogul. Of all the trades you have made, what is the one that stands out to you as the best trade you have made?
Best trade I have ever made was sending SP Cole Hamels and SP Josh Johnson to HanRam (who was Oakland at the time) for SP Brett Hunter, SP Brett Anderson, 2B Jemile Weeks. Of the 5 players really Jemile was probably the worst of the bunch and I had him for 7 years, he was a solid player, but not really all that great. His defense was pretty good though, and really 2B has always been a position I have issues with. Brett Anderson was another player that only lasted 7 years for me and then left because he was a Boras agent, but if he had stayed with me and not gone to San Diego I think his stats would have been a bit better, but he went 13-5 and then 21-5 in two years, and was a great number 3 behind Hunter and Pace. Brett Hunter was the centerpiece of the deal and he ended up getting 220 wins in his career, 205 with me, and really was a dominant pitcher having 9 ASG to his credit. Then looking the other way, Josh Johnson did pitch to 2020, and was good, but never really able to pitch a whole season, and lasted 4 years in Oakland. Hamels on the other hand never did anything but suck, so I essentially got 3 major pieces that won me a WS in the future, and traded away two pitchers that really had no major impact on the file.
Obviously, everyone has their share of failures, can you point out to s specific trade that you remember that just did not work out as you intended?
I believe it was with you and you were the Angels, I ended up getting RP Sid Vasquez and you got SP Santos Macies. We all know how he turned out. That being said the most recent deal I can think of was getting Dwuann Davis and Vinny Bastos for Matt Manning. I really regret that now.
Also while I was thinking of it afterwards, Dernest Johnson, Travis Cottingham, Samuel Stillman (who I then later traded more for to get him back) for Alan Brooks. That was just a disastrous deal, every time I deal with Corey it is bad news.
Through the years, you have drafted incredibly well. Can you point out to me the best draft pick you have made?
Well I would say Pace, but he was autoed, although to be fair I would have drafted him, as he was on a quick list that I had looked at. I would have to say my best pick was either Santos Macies, or the one that may trump him being Kevin Kahler. Both of these players will end up in the hall of fame at some point, and I did really like both, Macies was only ever traded for me to win a world series during that span, but otherwise I planned on keeping him, and I paid the price with that pick.
With the draft all of us have had that player that we thought was a sure thing that just did not pan out. Did you have that player that years later just did not pan out like you thought he would?
For me maybe it was just because it was recent, but Alejandro Iraldo. That beign said he had two major injuries that impacted him greatly, but when I drafted him and then started to see him develop, I thought he was going to be that big ace type pitcher, who was going to end up possibly like Lukes is now, but instead he had two major drops in injuries, and then he should be solid, but I expected him to be so much more, and I ended up turning down so many big offers that would have involved him.
If you could put together an all-time mogul team from players that we have had here in first class mogul, what would your lineup look like? You don't have to give me a whole bench and whole RP but maybe a RP or two and a couple bench players.
RF Jorge Vasquez
CF: Rafael Romero
1B: Steve Miller
2B: Sean Vogel
3B: Marv Eason
LF: James Aitkenhead
DH: Tim Vandyke
CA: Gabriel Gamora
SS: Peter Conwell
Bench: Jay Sullivan, Matt McArthur, Mike Gartner, Claudio Vargas
SP: Donovan Pace
SP Brett Hunter
SP: Corey Bosworth
SP: Lindblom
SP: RJ Seidel
RP: Alan Jackson, Rob Wood, Edmund Poez
Through the years you have had plenty of playoff runs, including 3 world series banners. Of all your teams, which do you feel is the best one you put on the field?
I honestly think my best team was the 2023 Florida Marlins, although it was a very old team. My rotation had 3 aces in Pace, Hunter, and Seidel, and I had just brought in Rafael Romero. We went on to win 115 games, which was the best statistically, and I still feel we should have won the WS, but my 3B got injured at the wrong time, and we ran into the Cubs, which was always difficult with the team Sean built.
do you remember a series that just shocked you. That you thought, not a chance you would lose this series and the shocker happened?
2024 NLDS against Arizona
I went 111-51, which was my 4th best record of all time in the league, and I had Pace who won the triple crown that year leading my staff who in its entirety had an E.R.A of 2.79, where the MLB average was 4.38. I saw no team coming even close to me, even Andy’s, yet I lost to Arizona in 7, who then went on to win the WS. That was honestly the most disappointed I ever felt in all of FCM.
For one season, what do you feel is the best team of all time in FCM?
I think the year Andy went 120-42 no one can doubt that has been the best team of all time in a single season.
You have bee a GM in both the AL and NL and have been around since season 1. I know when I advanced in the playoffs, I would cringe when I would play certain gm's head to head like Andy, yourself and DJ. Can you remember a specific team or GM that when you had to play head to head that just seamed to have your number?
To be perfectly honest it was always either you as the Cubs or DJ as the Astros that I hated to play against. Because no matter what I did, your teams would always beat me, even if one of you barely made it in the sim, I honestly do not know how I lost so many series when I had Pace pitching 3 times a series. I also was not in the AL long enough to worry too much on Andy, plust he usually did have the best team.
Every GM In FCM has their strengths and weaknesses (drafting, setting roster, trades, etc...). If you could pull a Dr.Frankenstein and pull traits from one gm and another. What traits would you pull and from who to form the complete gm?
In terms of drafting hitters I would want to take Andy’s skills at that. In terms of drafting pitching I would either keep myself or Sean. To be honest in terms of lineup setting I am not sure who I would take, but maybe Mike, he seems to get the most out of his players, and makes the playoffs even though he never has a top tier team in most people’s opinions. As for trading, I consider myself fairly good, but maybe to be more like Andy where his deals end up being more fair.
Thanks for your time today, Anything you want to add?
I hope you get a team soon in the league, and preferably in the NL so that I can get some vengeance at some point in the future. Thanks for doing this Sean. Also just want to point out, Joe Gray doesn’t look like he is one of the worst players in the first round now
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